


Sick of your Fake Smile

by berripye



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Depressed Harry Potter, Draco is good at occlumency, Everyone except for main characters are assholes, Friendship, Good Draco Malfoy, Harry Has Issues, Harry can do Occlumency, Hogwarts Eighth Year, I suck at writing and I'm sorry, I'm Bad At Titles, Luna Lovegood & Draco Malfoy Friendship, Luna Lovegood & Harry Potter Friendship, M/M, Shitty people - Freeform, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:53:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21724066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/berripye/pseuds/berripye
Summary: The war is over. Everything and everyone is broken. The Dark Lord has been vanquished. Harry broke up with Ginny. He blames himself for everything.Despite having his two best friends Ron and Hermione, something was off. He felt like he was missing something. Even as Harry sat on the couch of the newly renovated Number 12 Grimmauld Place, he knew where his real home was and he missed it so much that it hurt.Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, the place where Harry felt free and safe. His favorite place in the entire world where he could escape from everything. So when Harry learns that he could go back, he was beyond excited.However, even when he is back at Hogwarts, things don't go as he expected. He still has to fight his own battles and he is sick of it. He just feels so alone and surrounded by fake people trying to take advantage of him.Then there is Malfoy- or Draco as Harry now calls him, and he was what kept Harry alive in all the chaos happening around him. It's curious how much things changed over the summer of the war.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Kudos: 25





	1. S

The war is over. Everything and everyone is broken. The Dark Lord has been vanquished. Harry had his two best friends Ron and Hermione, but somehow it just didn’t feel right. He felt like he was missing something. He sat on the couch of the newly renovated Number 12 Grimmauld Place, deep in thought. 

“What do I want? Why do I feel incomplete? Oh right. I broke up with Ginny.”

Sighing, he decided he should most likely go outside for a walk to clear his mind and do something other than feel sorry for the Weasley family. The truth was, he never really loved Ginny, and it turns out he only saw her as a friend. When he told her this, she _seemed_ alright, but when Harry used legitimacy to see how she actually felt, he saw how much she loved him, and it made him hurt to see how disappointed she felt inside, even after insisting it was all for the best. 

Locking the door behind him, he started walking to the nearest grocery store. It was almost midnight, so he assumed no muggle would be around to see him, let alone any witch or wizard. He was ever so surprised when a hand rested on his right shoulder.

“Harry, what are you doing out so late? Trouble sleeping?”

Harry turned around to find none other than Neville Longbottom grinning at him. Studying his features, he could tell that his fellow Gryffindor looked sleep-deprived and thin. 

“Yeah, something like that.” changing the subject, he asked, “How’s Luna doing? I haven’t been in contact with anyone lately.”

“Luna’s doing great! She visits her father sometimes, and she was over at my place earlier. Haven’t seen or heard anything from Hermione and Ron though. How’s Ginny?”

At the mention of his ex’s name, he stopped abruptly.

“We broke up. It was never going to work out anyways. I knew she loved me a lot, but I never felt the same towards her.”

“I’m sorry to hear that Harry,” he replied awkwardly. “ If there’s anything I could do…”

“It’s ok Neville.” 

They walked in silence for a while before Neville spoke again. 

“Are you going back to Hogwarts? I think I am. Not completely sure yet. But again, I want to major in herbology and I never got the chance to take the NEWT for it so. I read in the daily prophet that you’re going to become an Auror?”

“Wait, we can go back to Hogwarts?”

Harry didn’t realize how much he missed Hogwarts, but he didn’t want more reminders of the war that had just passed. 

“Oh! This is my place. Gotta go! I hope I'll see you around Harry!”

Harry said goodbye, lost in thought. How come nobody told him that Hogwarts was going to accept 8th years? Well, he hasn’t been in contact with anyone recently, so all he could do was blame himself.

“Tomorrow,” he thought, “I’m going to go to Hogwarts and ask McGonagall about this.”

He jogged the rest of the way to the grocery store and bought what he needed. He must’ve looked super happy because when he was at the cash register, the lady working there looked at him weirdly. 

Harry got lost in thought and he didn't realize his feet took him back doorstep of number 12 Grimmauld Place. After placing all the items in the refrigerator, he sat down to write a last-minute owl to Professor McGonagall. He rolled the note up and attached it to his owl’s leg, who he named Sirius because he always wrote to him the most. He watched as the blackbird flew out the kitchen window and out of sight in the darkness of the night. Yawning, he went up to his room to get some sleep, although it was never possible. 

~⚡️⚡️⚡️~

Harry woke up to Sirius nibbling away at his left index finger. 

“Accio glasses.’ he muttered.

He could just make out the blurry figure that was his glasses zooming towards him. The side of it jabbed him in the eye, reminding him of the time on his 17th birthday when he had done the same thing, and Ron had commented, “Smooth!” It was also the day before Bill and Fleur’s wedding, which was the same day the trio left to hunt Horcruxes. Just like that, one memory led to an entire downward spiral of thoughts, and he winced while getting lost in his head. He only regained his conscience when Sirius screeched loudly in annoyance and waved his leg around wildly.

“Sorry Sirius, I was lost in thought,” Harry muttered apologetically, taking the letter. Sirius turned and started flying around above Harry’s head, a behavior that Harry learned recently which meant that the bird was either annoyed or waiting for a response. Harry took the envelope out and found himself staring at a scarlet-colored wax seal, above it the Hogwarts crest was pictured with a scarlet lion, green snake, yellow badger, and blue raven. Smiling, he opened the letter to see a list of school supplies and a separate piece of paper from Professor McGonagall. He set the list aside and started reading the letter from McGonagall. The letter read:

_Greetings Harry-_

I’m glad that you are holding up alright. Please do not visit the castle until the school year starts. We are still in the process of cleaning up the remains of the war and I believe you would not like to see that. I was surprised when I received your letter Potter. Only a few people have requested to come back. I was even more surprised when I heard that your friends Hermione and Ron would not be accompanying you to finish their education. (Well, I thought at least Granger would be.) Nevertheless, it’s good to have you back Potter.

_Minerva McGonagall_

Harry finished reading, staring blankly at the letter. Just like that, the smile was whipped off his face, being replaced with a frown and utter disappointment. What? Ron and Hermione aren’t going?

He could almost hear Hermione saying, “Education is crucial! Why are we skipping 7th year! This is so unjust!”

She had said that before they decided to go hunting for Horcruxes, and now she’s not even going to go back for another year? As McGonagall said, he sort of expected Ron to skip this opportunity, but what hurts the most is that they didn’t tell him beforehand but again, he wasn’t really in contact with anyone at the moment. Sighing, Harry put the letter from McGonagall down and skimmed through the list of school supplies. He needed all the supplies mentioned, and the term would start in a few weeks. He didn’t really have anything to do, so he ate some food that he purchased last night at the grocery store for breakfast. Bored out of his mind, he decided to pay a visit to Diagon Alley. 

Harry wore a grey oversized hoodie and sweatpants with the Gryffindor emblem on the left thigh. He wore this outfit a lot lately because of how comfortable they were and also because it has a hood that could cover his face. It made him practically unrecognizable in the casual muggle clothes, and it made going places much easier. Satisfied with his look, Harry grabbed a handful of Floo powder and stepped into his fireplace. 

“Diagon Alley!” he demanded.

He got pulled into the emerald green flames and landed in the fireplace of the Leaky Cauldron. Keeping his head down, he moved to the brick wall, withdrawing his wand from the pocket of the sweatpants. He proceeded to tap on the third brick up the middle, and the wall slowly shifted and deteriorated to show Diagon Alley. The place always left Harry in awe as he walked down the crowded cobblestone steps. He still remembered the first time when Hagrid took him there. It was the coolest thing he ever saw, and he remembered not being able to believe he was a wizard up until he walked into the magical wizarding alley. Each shop he passed gave him flashbacks of the time back in his third year when he blew Aunt Marge up and fled Number 4 Privet Drive on the Knight Bus. He spent the rest of that summer wandering around Diagon Alley all day and he visited pretty much every shop there. 

Harry finished buying all his supplies when he saw the last shop. Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes was surprisingly open, and not many people were there. Gathering up his courage, he entered the store to find the joke shop packed with people, but the atmosphere wasn’t quite the same since Fred wasn’t there. He ran up the stairs of the joke shop and moved the area of muggle card tricks and went into the back room. 

“Oi, who are you? You don’t look authorized to be back here. This area is for Employees only, how did you even find it?” said a Weasley.

Harry looked up to see George and Ron holding their wands up and so he pulled back his hood.

“Hey guys, I thought you said I can be back here whenever I want?”

The two looked at each other and smiled.

“Harry! We haven’t seen or heard from you in ages!” the two said, dropping their wands and running over. 

“Sorry. I’ve just been hanging around Grimmauld Place. I didn’t want to disturb any of you.” he lied.

“No problem mate, we just thought you killed yourself or something,” Ron said sarcastically. “You haven’t been in public at all after the war, let alone talk to anyone. You should come here more often if you are just at home doing nothing! Hang on let me call Hermione.”

Ron dropped some Floo powder on the fire and stuck his head in. 

“Oi Hermione! The chosen one is here!”

A moment later, Hermione popped out of the fireplace.

“Blimey Harry! I haven’t seen you in ages!” She also ran over and hugged Harry.

“Erm, yeah. I have a question for both of you. Especially for Hermione. Why aren’t you guys going back to Hogwarts? I’m going to be all alone with Neville!”

The two looked at each other and sighed. 

“I’m awfully sorry Harry but we talked about this a few weeks ago when McGonagall sent the letter, and we decided not to go. Don’t misinterpret it, I would love to go and finish my education with you, but I’m too busy with ministry training and Ron’s giving George a hand with the shop.” 

"Yeah, I'm sorry I have to leave you to Neville's lectures about Herbology but I really don't want to go back," Ron said humorously.

“I get it. You guys are busy, and I had no idea. I should have stayed in contact with everyone before deciding to go to Hogwarts alone. Plus, weren’t you the one in 5th year or something that said the ministry was rubbish and for people like Umbridge?” Harry replied, hiding his disappointment with a smile.

Ron and Hermione looked relieved at the sight of him smiling, so they laughed. 

“Yeah, I remember that. She said something about never wanting to be a “stone-cold ministry worker” and now here she is, training to be the mistress of magic.”

Hermione rolled her eyes.

“Yes, that was then. Now, Kingsley is the minister and he is way better than Fudge, and I believe that he has changed the ministry and it isn’t as bad now.” 

“Yeah, ok whatever you say. Harry, weren’t you going to be an Auror?”

“Yep, I was. I need a break from all the action though. After I went to the ministry, they said I could immediately start working, but I refused because I sort of want a break from dark arts and catching criminals. Voldemort was already enough for me.”

“Well said mate. It sounds like you were responding to an interview or something. Come on, loosen up! Why so tense? Are you sure you’re alright?”

What Harry wanted to say was, “No, I’m not alright Ron. I still get nightmares every night and the press still writes fake articles about me. My two best friends aren’t going to Hogwarts. Besides, we just got out of a war, so how is anyone alright?”

Instead, Harry replied with a fake smile, “Why wouldn’t I be fine?”


	2. I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fast forward to when he goes on the Hogwarts Express :D

A week later, September 1st finally arrived. Harry packed his stuff and apparated to King’s Cross station at 10:50 A.M. Usually, he would go with the Weasley family, but of course not this year because they would not be going to Hogwarts with him this year. Walking through the wall between platforms nine and ten, he emerged on the other side, hiding his face with his hoodie. He didn’t want people noticing him since he was the so-called “Chosen One” or as people now referred to him as the “Savior”. It was quite embarrassing really, so he stayed quiet and found himself an empty compartment at the end of the train. 

The last time he was on the Hogwarts Express, he was mourning the death of Dumbledore in his 6th year, and before that, he eavesdropped on Malfoy’s conversation in the very compartment he was in right now. He was so lost in his thoughts of the past years on the Hogwarts Express that he did not notice a not so small paparazzi forming outside of his compartment. Eventually, people began to bang on the glass door and Harry finally realized what was going on. Unsure what to do, he opened the door a tiny slit, and he instantly regretted it. Outside his compartment was so loud he was tempted to cast a sonorous charm. Before he could speak the incantation, someone else shouted, causing everyone to be quiet. 

“Hey! If you lot don’t  fucking shut up, I’ll hex you! Go back to your compartments!”

Everyone looked towards where the source of the sound was coming from and when they saw who it was, they quickly dashed into their compartments. Harry was also curious as to who it could be, so he poked his head out of the compartment door and was shocked to see none other than Draco Malfoy standing in front of him. 

“Oh, it’s you. Hey Malfoy. Er, thank you for scaring them away.”

“Potter, your fan club is so overwhelmingly annoying. I’m not sure how you deal with it.” 

“Tell me about it. I’ve been avoiding going in public for the whole summer!”

Just then, the train started moving. 

“Er, you want to join me? I think everywhere else is full the last time I checked.” Harry said, shocked at his own daring to ask his former arch-nemesis to share a compartment with him. What made him even more surprised was the fact that Malfoy said yes.

“Sure whatever. Nobody would want to share a compartment with a death eater anyway.”

It was weird to see the boy who once teased him relentlessly look so insecure and for once,  _ not  _ bullying him.

“So where are all your Slytherin friends? I saw Blaize earlier but I never saw Pansy and Goyle.”

Draco’s stunning grey eyes looked up, replying in a dull tone, “Obviously they don’t want to come back to Hogwarts. Blaize won’t talk to me because he wants a fresh start. All of us need a fresh start after everything we’ve been through. That’s why I’m making some effort to talk to you. I finally don’t have to worry about father scolding me to not talk to anyone that isn’t pureblood, so I’m glad.”

“Slytherin,” Harry muttered under his breath.

“Hey! I heard that. To be fair though,  _ you  _ were the one that asked to share a compartment, not me. Also had the thought of the Savior sharing a compartment with a death eater make you question your reputation at all?”

“Hey, like you said. The war is over. We all need a fresh start, and I know you were a real asshole in the past, but I can tell that the war has changed you. It changed all of us, no matter what people say about us I really don’t give a shit. Besides, I could really use a friend right now.”

“Wow I never thought I would see the day that I would have a civilized conversation with Saint Potter,” Draco said, rolling his eyes.

“Ok, I change my mind. Your still a huge asshole,” Harry said jokingly. 

“If this is how Gryffindors communicate with each other, I’m glad I wasn’t friends with Gryffindors.”

“No, that’s not how we communicate. That’s just something called a joke; unless Slytherins don’t joke around. Oh right, you guys don’t joke around you’re too serious to do something like that.”

“Potter, of course I know what a joke is. Slytherins don’t say crappy jokes like that unless you want to get punched in the face or hexed. It’s rough being in Slytherin now that I look back at it. I’m glad everything is finally going to change.”

“I guess we all need a fresh start,” Harry said thoughtfully.

“My name is Malfoy, Draco Malfoy.” He joked, sticking his hand out. 

“Wow, I thought Slytherins don’t joke around?”

The statement gave Harry major flashbacks to his first year and how he rejected Draco’s friend request. However, this time, it felt different. 

His heart skipped a beat as he took Draco’s hand and replied, “Pleased to meet you. My name is Harry Potter.”

They savored the moment, but after a while, Harry snorted and the two boys promptly burst out laughing at how stupid their reenacting of the scene was, thinking back to what happened all those years ago. Both boys had been through so much, and they changed so much after the war. 

Harry and Draco talked about what they did over the summer as they passed by green fields and mountain ranges, munching on sweets gotten from the trolley witch. Harry couldn’t remember the last time that he had an actual conversation with someone without having to become his fake self. 

“Remember when Ron’s rat bit Goyle’s hand?”

“Yeah, that was hilarious! I can’t believe that it actually happened! Wasn’t that technically Peter Pettigrew?”

“I guess so,” Harry replied thoughtfully. “Although we didn’t really know at that time.”

“Oh yeah, I just remembered! Where are Ron and Hermione?”

At the mention of his two best friends, Harry tensed. 

“They aren’t coming back this year. The Weasley family is still trying to get their shit together. Hermione went to Australia to get her parents back and now she’s off training at the ministry to become the mistress of magic. I was going to start Auror training, but they said I don’t need to take any courses because, well you know. I’ve had enough experience for a lifetime. How about you?”

“Well, education is super important. Also, it’s not like anyone would accept me for a job because of the dark mark on my forearm. They just look at your facade, not bothering to look at your true self.”

At the same time, they both exclaimed, “People are so fucking fake sometimes,” and shared a laugh. 

What broke their laughter was the sound of the compartment door sliding open.

“So it’s true. The savior is making friends with this death eater scum. How pitiful.” 

Both boys turned to see who was there. 

It was a Ravenclaw boy that Harry did not recognize, so in the most polite tone, he asked, “Um, excuse me but I don’t even know who you are. If you came here to ask about the battle that happened, you know we can’t help you here.” Knowing perfectly well that this was definitely  _ not  _ the reason why this boy showed up.

The boy thought so too, and he rolled his eyes. 

“Of course I’m not here to ask what happened. I don’t look  _ that  _ stupid, do I? I just heard rumors that you and this scumbag are making friends. I couldn’t believe it, but here you are.”

Draco looked infuriated at this.

“Believing everything we hear are we now? I’ll tell you what. Nothing has changed after the war. We all fought each other and people were killed, you would have thought people would change. But no! I make an effort to change, and everyone still thinks of me as a shit. Do us a favor and fucking leave us alone for once!”

Scowling, the Ravenclaw boy left. Everything was quiet for a while until Harry spoke up.

“Sorry I had no idea how bad people were treating you. That git was just as bad as you were before the war!”

Sighing, Draco met Harry’s emerald green eyes and said, “It’s fine. I sort of deserve it. Also, it’s not my fault that people don’t want to move on in their lives.”

“No Draco. It most certainly is  _ not  _ ok. You are human, just like everyone else is, and the war is over so we should focus on house unity. I don’t care if you were a death eater, a criminal, or even if you were the dark lord himself. But if you made that change, you deserve every right to be treated the same way. I just have the feeling that you’re not lying, so I can tell that you made that change.”

Harry was right, although Draco had a hard time believing him. What made other people even care? All they knew was that he was on the other side of the war, so even after that change, they wouldn’t see it which meant they could torment him all they want. 

Harry could sense the trace of doubt in Draco’s unreadable face, although he did a really good job concealing it.

“Hey, it’s ok. I’ve never told anyone this, but I hate being me sometimes too. People just make assumptions about you and about half of them are acting all fake. Everyone thinks I’m some sort of savior, but in reality, I’m just a kid who just got  _ really  _ unlucky. If it makes you feel better, I was almost sorted into Slytherin, so technically I’m half as bad as you are.” Harry shared.

Draco’s eyes widened. 

“What! That’s not possible. Saint Potter, in Slytherin? Yeah right. It might just be the end of the world if that happened.”

Harry elaborated, “Well, the sorting hat said I would be better off in Slytherin. I just kept thinking ‘not Slytherin’ over and over again, so the hat placed me in Gryffindor. Now you better not go running through the halls screaming ‘Your savior would have been a Slytherin!’ Or else I would hex you!”

“Wow, I would never have thought. But why not Slytherin? You could have been stuck with me!” Draco said smirking. 

Harry’s face turned slightly pink, and said, “Well, I’m not sure that’s a good thing. To be honest, I-”

The conversation got interrupted by an announcement that they would be arriving at Hogwarts in 3 minutes’ time. So the two boys hastily changed into Gryffindor and Slytherin robes and grabbed their trunks. 

Draco noticed that Harry didn’t tuck his shirt in properly, so he used a charm to smooth out his clothes and tuck the while shirt in neatly. 

“Thanks, Malfoy!” Harry said, flashing a smile. 

“No problem. The one thing I can’t stand is a mess. For example, the nest on top of your head that you call hair.” Draco said, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

The train had stopped a minute ago and almost everyone was off the train, except for a few last stragglers. There was only one carriage left by the time they got off the train and thankfully only Luna was there. 

“Hi, Luna! I didn’t know you came back to Hogwarts this year. Where is Neville?”

“Oh hello Harry, Draco. Neville said he got a job offer shortly after he met you over the summer, Harry. He said they accepted him without having to get his NEWTs.” Luna exclaimed in her dreamy voice.

“That’s brilliant! He always loved Herbology. He always lectured everyone on it, so he must’ve been really glad when he heard the news!” 

“Yes, I’m afraid the wrackspurts are effecting him badly though.”

Dra co looked puzzled, and asked, “What’s a wrackspurt?”

“They're invisible. They float in through your ears and make your brain go fuzzy. Harry attracts them a lot.”

“Interesting.” 

The three 8th years talked more as the thestral led the way to the castle. When they got to the castle and clamored into the great hall, their stomachs were not very pleased and the candy they had on the train seemed ages ago. 

The four house tables are united to form one, and the sectioned off part of the table was made especially for the returning eighth years. Harry sat down at the sectioned part of the unified table with Luna and Draco.

Something about the great hall was off. It was still magnificent and had a warm, welcoming vibe but ever since the war ended, all the survivors had terrible flashbacks of the aftermath of the fight. Rows and rows of the dead bodies of family, friends, or strangers laid on that very floor they were standing on now. That thought made Harry sicker than he already was, so he pushed the thought out of his mind to focus on all the nice thoughts. It was like a constant tug-of-war battle going on in his head that was giving him flashback after flashback and also a humongous headache. It was as if his brain was malfunctioning or something.

Then, the next thing he knew, his scar gave out a sharp pain.


	3. C

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter a pissed off Harry Potter and annoying people and you get some drama.

Draco trudged towards the table behind Harry, who had just stopped abruptly, clutching his forehead. 

“Potter, you good?”

When he didn’t respond, Draco got worried.

“Harry! Hey, are you alright!?”

“Y-yeah m’ fine. Just hungry I guess.” he stammered.

‘A bit’ was an understatement. Harry’s scar was searing with pain, and it hasn’t hurt since Voldemort was gone, so this behavior was quite a shock. He began to breathe heavily and his headache became increasingly terrible. He couldn’t even tell what McGonagall was saying at this point.

“It’s just because I’m hungry. I’m fine.” Harry reassured himself. However, things were most definitely _not_ fine and under control because a few moments later, the voice in his head spoke. This only happens if a) he is hungry, b) he is in the presence of people that don’t like him, or c) if he is having a panic attack. It seemed to be all of the above today- his least favorite combo.

“Harry, what did I say? You can’t trust yourself, so why should anyone trust you? They just act nice because they think your so great but really you are just an annoying prick, even your best friends said so; if that’s even what they are to you. Why do you even exist at this point? Everyone ha-”

“HEY!”

~🍏🍏🍏~

Draco looked noticed that Harry wasn’t looking well, and it increasingly worried him. He noticed how the boy’s sparkling green eyes squinted up at McGonagall as she was talking, and when the food magically appeared, he made sure to check for a reaction. Nope, no reaction. 

“Hey Luna, don’t you think Harry is acting a little out of it right now?”

Looking over at Harry, Luna could tell exactly what Harry felt, so she started talking about the excessive about of nargles around this year.

Draco ignored Luna’s ramble and proceeded to nudge Harry.

“Hey, Potter! Wake up, are you sleeping with your eyes open or something? Answer me!” 

When there was no reaction, Draco started shaking Harry more aggressively, which seemed to work because Harry gave a yelp and stared at Draco.

“Huh? Oh, foods here! Thank Merlin because if it didn’t arrive any earlier, I would have stood on the table and yelled at McGonagall.” 

Relieved, Draco started picking some food and putting it on his plate. Satisfied, he was going to start eating, but then he saw Harry’s plate and put his fork down in disgust. It was stacked and packed with what looked like every single food item possible (except for the mint humbugs) on the table.

“What the- Harry, you eat like a hippogriff, no offense.”

Harry looked over at Draco’s plate and looked shocked as well.

“Well, it looks like that because you eat the size of a mouse, and I thought you were scared of hippogriffs, especially what happened after 3rd year.”

“Hey! Don’t compare me to a small rodent!” Draco said, scowling at Harry.

Luna heard their conversation and decided to join.

“At least he doesn’t eat like a Crumple-horned Snorkack. Father and I went searching for them again in the summer. We didn’t find any though…” Luna rambled on about the majestic creature.

Draco looked at Harry questioningly, so Harry explained.

“Basically, they look like rhinos and have this giant glowing horn. From what I’ve pieced together, it’s probably an Erumpant.”

Draco was increasingly confused, so he asked, “What is ‘rye noh’? Is it a type of muggle wheat food?”

At that, Harry burst out in laughter, causing people around them to glance/glare towards Draco and whisper venomously behind hands. Only Draco noticed this since Harry was still dying in laughter.

“Honestly Harry, that wasn’t even funny. What is a rye noh?”

Harry just shook his head and dug into his giant food pile, adding, “If you saw Ron eating, you would think I’m not so bad compared to him.” 

Rolling his eyes, Draco started on his food as well. Just as he finished his turkey, there were two voices behind the two boys.

“Hey, Harry! Why don’t you join us? You know there are better people than Malfoy right?” 

“Yeah mate, have you gone mental? Why are you sitting with this death eater? Why are you even looking at him, he was on the other side remember?”

Draco’s stomach dropped and he glanced at Harry, who paused mid-bite and put his fork down, frowning as a look of annoyance passed by his face.

Turning around, they found Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. 

“Hello to you too, Dean, Seamus,” Harry said unemotionally and almost dull. “I think it’s my own decision who I can sit and talk to. Also, the war is over, so why can’t I talk to other people?”

His fellow Gryffindor roommates looked confused, and asked, “Hey, are you okay? Your not under imperius, are you? You are sitting with the boy you hated for 8 years! The same one who said fake stuff to the prophet, bullied you for almost 8 years, and almost sold you to You-Know-Who multiple times! Are you sure you’re fine?”

Harry suddenly felt offended, and not for the first time. Although this time, he couldn’t control his anger.

“Okay, did you just question my sanity? Me, someone that can shake the imperius curse off and is almost as paranoid as Mad-eye moody himself? Also, as I said, I think I can make my own decisions here, it’s my life. Yes, I have a life, Seamus! You shouldn’t care who I talk to and for your information, his name is Voldemort. The war is over, and we have all changed. Don’t you dare insult Draco. He may have made some shitty decisions in the past, but he _did_ save my life. I’m so over the war.” 

Raising his voice, he continued to speak to the onlookers the scene attracted. 

“Hey you lot, listen the fuck up! Don’t think I don’t see you all whispering whenever I pass by, judging me on everything. Well news flash: I am human as well, and so is everyone that came out of the war! Not everything is centered around you and your insecurities or how much you lost because I bet everyone in this fucking room lost something or someone after the war okay? If you don’t make an effort to change, your life won’t move forward. For all the people who did change like Draco, those people deserve a chance and you better give them one.” 

Harry sat back down without looking at anyone else and ate his food quietly, breathing hard. It seemed as if everyone had gone mute, and nobody dared to break the silence except for the clattering of utensils and chewing. 

The rest of the time in the great hall zoomed by. Dessert was served, people started chatting again, and McGonagall mentioned a few more things, then dismissed everyone and told all the 8th years to stay behind. 

“As you know if you were listening to me earlier, all of you will be assigned a different place to stay. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get all of you a separate common room. So instead, you will be assigned whatever rooms are left in the common rooms. I’m sorry, but the room most likely will not be the house you are actually in, due to the surprising amount of people attending this year that we did not expect. This should not be a problem because you all should get along with others anyway. That would be all for now. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves because we need to wait for the heads of each house to report whatever rooms are left. Now that that is out of the way, Potter, Malfoy, I would like to speak with you two privately.”

Uh-oh. This can’t be good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are greatly appreciated 😆  
> Thank you for reading this, giving kudos, and bookmarking!!!


	4. K

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first instance of Harry being a reckless idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AKA Harry has anger issues and he is not good at making choices :)

Harry gulped and looked at Draco, who’s face was practically emotionless. McGonagall pulled them out of the Great Hall. Harry expected her to go on a rant to them for causing drama earlier, but she started talking in a stern, controlled voice with an emotion Harry never thought McGonagall had. 

“First off, I request you two to come to my office if someone is bothering you. You two are the students I worry about the most since you went through the most in the war out of all the other students. I’m glad that you are trying to get other people to move on after the war, but can you do it in a _less_ forceful way than shouting at everyone in the school? If Gryffindor had points right now, they would be taken away for that mouth of yours, Potter. Is that clear?”

“But Profes-”

“Harry, no. I know they were making fun of Malfoy, but please just leave it to teachers just this once, please? I know you mean well, but understand that professors have duties other than teaching, too.”

“Please call me Draco,” Draco said, shifting uncomfortably at his last name being mentioned. 

“Of course, Draco. Now, I’m going to assign you two in the same dorm, do you think you can manage yourselves? Oh, who am I kidding, of course, you can.” she said with a rare smile. 

“Well, that will be all for now. Please do me a favor and try to make some friends, okay? The less trouble, the better.” 

And with that, the three of them retreated back to the Great Hall, once again ignoring all the curious looks and people whispering behind their backs. Honestly, Harry didn’t expect any other behavior. Right now, the only people he could trust are Luna and Draco. It was a weird thought because the last time he was at Hogwarts, Draco had been his sworn enemy, and now he is one of the only people he could trust. It was going to be a weird year indeed. 

~⚡️⚡️⚡️~

Harry woke up expecting to see the red canopy of his four-poster bed, but instead, he was staring up at emerald green ones and no sense of light whatsoever. He looked out the window, expecting to see an overlook of the Hogwarts grounds, but instead, he saw tons of dark, murky water and even saw a few magical creatures earlier. It was like living in an aquarium, and the rooms were dimly lit compared to the Gryffindor Tower. 

According to the tempus spell he had done, it was currently 3 in the morning, so where the hell could Malfoy be? Well, there was only one way of telling.

“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” 

Harry frantically searched the Marauders Map for the banner labeled Draco Malfoy. After around a minute of searching, he found his name, along with two other names Harry didn’t recognize, and Peeves in the trophy room. There was a Slytherin emblem on both names, A trick Hermione had done to show each individual’s house on the map next to their names. Harry slipped into his shoes and tucked the map into his pocket after he wiped it, saying “Mischief managed!” He was about to leave the common room when Professor McGonagall’s words echoed in his head. 

“Screw it.” he thought. 

Draco might be in danger, and also Harry wasn’t supposed to have the map anyway, so that would just make more problems for them. Not wanting to be caught, Harry ran back to the room to grab his invisibility cloak. He remembered that night in his first year when his cloak was misplaced for a while and had appeared on his bed folded neatly with a note pinned to it saying, “Just in case”. He found out later it was Dumbledore who gave the cloak back to him. Dumbledore is dead now, and he’s not going to help Harry with his problems anymore. So many people lost… _No, you have to fight the thoughts, Harry._ Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of the common room with his cloak on. Harry checked the map again, making sure Draco was still there. Surely enough, one white and three green banners were there in the trophy room.

Harry was a pro when it came to creeping in the halls of Hogwarts at night. He was like that muggle spy James Bond, except with magic plus an invisibility cloak. He smiled, remembering the time Hermione told Ron he runs like James Bond, making him confused because he knew nothing about the muggle world. 

He passed Mrs. Norris without her even expecting anything, and a Hufflepuff student sleepwalking and mumbling something that sounded like ‘pie cakes’. Cautiously, Harry opened the door inch by inch. Once inside, he could already tell that something was wrong. The first thing that hit him was the smell of blood and two other people shouting mean words that were muffled. Careful not to be seen by anyone, Harry crouched behind the quidditch trophy case and tried his hardest to listen in on what was happening. 

The scene reminded him of the time in their sixth year in the bathroom. That duel could have ended Draco’s life, and it was all Harry’s fault. No, everything is always his fault. Everyone died for him, not once asking him what he thought about the situation, and when it is over, they blame him. Harry owes Draco too much, so he had to save him to make up for at least one time that he put his life in danger. Looking up again, Draco was standing against the wall, his white button-up shirt clinging to his well-shaped body… no. Harry couldn’t be thinking about that! Right now he needed to save Draco before it was too late. 

Pulling his invisibility cloak back on, Harry stuck his left arm (his wand arm) out, pointing it at one of the boy’s chest. Taking out his backup wand, he pointed it at the other boy. Making sure to aim the spell properly, he did a disarming charm and watched as two figures flew through the air, just like he did to Snape in the Shrieking Shack. If only he knew he was a good person at that time he wouldn’t have done...

“NO STOP IT!” 

The voices in his head died out and Draco was standing against the wall, panting and staring at Harry. He let out a weak ‘thanks’ and sat on the ground. 

“Ooh, I thought Potty hates Malfoy? Potty here to play a hero again, hm? It was a shame, the show was just getting interesting! Potty and Malfoy sitting in a tree K-I-S-” 

At that moment, Filch burst into the room with none other than Professor McGonagall, her lips pursed in a straight line and red sparks came out of her wand.

“Well shit Harry, you’re screwed,” Draco whispered.

Damn right he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come on Harry, control your anger man! XD  
> Sorry this chapter is so short. I'm having a hard time figuring out what to do next...  
> I've been working on other stories too. I have a really good idea for another Drarry story, and I also do stories for BTS, and soon Avengers I think. Right now, I have a BTS and Avengers crossover story that I'm very excited to share! I'm going to finish writing the whole thing and upload a chapter a week or something :) (That won't be for a while tho)  
> Comments are greatly appreciated 😆  
> Thank you for reading this!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are greatly appreciated 😆  
> Thank you for reading this!!!


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